Saturday, April 3, 2010

St. Louis Part I

We made it back from St. Louis...like, 1 hour ago. Can you believe I'm blogging already!? I know, I know...it's very much unlike me to be updating the blog so soon. But, it was either Blog or Unpack...and I went with Blog. Wouldn't you?

We came home to a very happy puppy and an overgrown yard. Sean is mowing the yard as I type. Neither of us were prepared to come back just yet. Good vacations always end too quickly. We were just starting to settle in, learn our way around the city and bond with the Jensen kids...and now we're back in Franklin where we have busy schedules, career woes and home responsibilities. Yuck, yuck and more yuck. The first thing I did when we entered the house was open my calendar and start to organize our plans for next week. BIG MISTAKE.

...Easter Sunday service, visit with my family at noon, visit with Sean's family at 5, meal planning, grocery trip, give Murphy a bath, do laundry, back to work on Monday, try to raise money for MS, reserve D1 class for Thursday, confirm cookout time with my uncle, get a copy of rabies tags for Murphy, buy Amanda a birthday present, work out, cook dinner, coordinate logo consultation with Faby, pack for Grand Rapids, business trip to Grand Rapids on Tuesday and Wednesday, unpack from business trip, cook dinner, buy new blinds because our new renters already broke a set and they've only lived there 4 days, work out, squeeze in a much needed happy hour with Sherri on Friday, cook dinner (if still sober), go to rental house to repair the fence and hang new blinds for them, haircut from KC, family cookout, karaoke for my sister's birthday....oh yes, and run with Murphy every morning and go to work and fight with people all day...

But it'll be fine. I think.

At least I had 4 days in St. Louis to spend with my husband and good friends.

Sean and I took the Budweiser Brewery tour (free!), and I'm glad we didn't have to pay anything for it because it wasn't the best. Fun to see the Clydesdales and bottling factory, but not very heavy on the actual brewing process. I'd say 2 out of 5 stars.

Sean and I rented 2 of the Jensen kids (Sarah and William) for a day and took them to the Zoo - also free! It was hotter than blazes so we gave in and bought $18 worth of B&J ice cream. Kind of defeated the purpose of the free trip, but oh well...We really enjoyed the lazy and comical chimps. The hippos put on a good swimming show, and the penguins were super cute. By the end of the zoo trek the 4 of us were wiped out. We walked all over Forest Park (larger than Central Park in NYC) to get back to our car. We spotted a wading pool and cooled off for a bit before heading back to the house.

St. Louis has a lot to offer as far as tourism, and most of the sites are free. The City Garden is a quiet stop in the middle of the bustling city, and it's home to several quirky sculptures like this bunny. City Garden also has a great view of the Arch.

Another St. Louis must-see (or rather, taste) is Pappy's Smokehouse. We knew the line would be long since Pappy's was featured on Food Network and the Travel Channel, but we were willing to wait it out in order to try this famous Memphis style BBQ. Being from the south, we had to see if Pappy knew what he was doing when it came to pork. Even though the line of hungry visitors wrapped around the entire restaurant it seemed to move really quickly. I'd say we had our food and a seat within 30 minutes. And it was worth the wait! A generous portion of pulled pork on a sesame seed kaiser roll, sweet potato fries and garlicky green beans. The sauces were thick and rich with the right hint of sweet. Too bad Pappy's isn't part of the free stuff in St. Louis.